Strength Of The World

Peyton and Zack were the first to arrive at the Sanders house, with Brian and Michelle arriving shortly after them. Johnny and Jimmy came stumbling through the door a little while later, with Lacey and Leana behind them laughing. “They have been drinking with my dad since 10:30.” Lacey laughed. “Yeah but at least it was wine!” Johnny said loudly, walking over to hug Peyton. “There she is! My bff!” “Johnny, nobody says bff anymore you idiot.” Brian said with an eye roll. “Dick. You just said it.” The bassist replied sarcastically, one arm wrapped around a laughing Peyton’s shoulders. “How’s baby V?” He asked, turning his attention back to the smaller woman. “Baby V is good, although it’s getting harder and harder for me to wear my normal clothes. Hence the dress.” She explained, gesturing to her outfit. “Well it’s a good thing we bought you all those maternity clothes for your birthday or else you’d be going naked.” Leana laughed. “Hey, I’m down with naked.” Zack grinned. “I’ve seen enough of Peyton naked through the years to last me a lifetime.” Brian laughed. “No brother should have to see all that.” “Whatever. It wasn’t that many times.” Peyton said with an eye roll. “Well, there was the time Jimmy threw a cricket on you when you were ten and you stripped out of all your clothes. Then I walked in on you getting out of the shower at my house when you were fourteen.” Brian said. “That time we played strip poker when you were in eleventh grade. Bri was so pissed that night cause you lost.” Michelle laughed. “Spring break your freshman year in college.” Jimmy pointed out. “There’s been countless times on the tour bus when you’d run through naked.” Matt added. “I’ve seen her naked lots of times.” Zack shrugged. “Yeah. We know. That’s why you’re her fiancée.” Johnny said with an eye roll. “Whatever guys.” Peyton said with a laugh, “Can we eat now? I’m starving.”

The guys were sitting in the dining room as the girls were making sure all the food was warmed before setting it all out on the table when everyone heard the front door open and close. “Who the fuck is that?” Matt asked, looking at Val who just shrugged. “It’s me. You guys don’t invite me to Thanksgiving anymore now that Peyton is back?” Gena asked, walking into the kitchen. “No, we don’t invite you to Thanksgiving anymore because you’re a slut.” Jimmy said with a smile. “Okay, but Peyton is here?” She questioned. “You better fucking watch what you say next, Gena.” Matt warned. “Don’t forget what happened last time you ran your mouth.” “Oh please, like I’m afraid of her.” The blonde said with an eye roll, her eyes finally landing on Peyton. “Wait. Why are you fat?” “Um. Probably because it’s Thanksgiving.” Peyton said with an eye roll. Zack got out of his chair and stood behind Peyton protectively. “Oh my god. Are you pregnant?” Gena screamed with disgust. “You really are a whore, aren’t you?” Peyton made to walk toward Gena, but Zack grabbed her arm. She turned to protest when she heard a loud slap. She turned back around to see Gena holding her face and Val looking furious. Peyton pulled her arm out of Zack’s grasp and walked toward her, hearing a heavy sigh come from Zack. “Yeah, Gena.” She said softly. “I am pregnant. And I’m engaged.” She said, holding up her left hand. “Because I can keep my knees together around other men.” Gena started backing up once Peyton got closer, until she backed her into the fridge. “The difference between you and me is, you were never good enough for Zack. Every time you slept together, he thought of me. I was always in the back of his mind no matter what you were doing. You thought you had some big place in his life? You couldn’t be more wrong.” She laughed dryly. “You were just a distraction, something to pass the time. You never deserved his love or attention. And now that I’m back, you’ll never EVER be able to experience any of that again. Now get the fuck out of my best friend’s house, before I drag you out.” Gena opened her mouth to say something, but just walked out of the room. Peyton took the few minutes it took for Gena to walk from the kitchen to the front door to calm herself down before she turned to look at her friends. Val and the rest of the girls were grinning. Matt had a knowing smirk on his face. Brian looked proud, Jimmy was holding back his laughter, Zack’s expression was a mixture of proud and amused, and Johnny’s mouth was hanging open. “Jesus Christ.” Peyton sighed, walking over to sit down on a bar stool. “Actually, it’s Johnny.” The man said, and Jimmy could no longer contain his laughter. He laughed loudly, and pretty soon the entire room was laughing. “Did you see Gena’s face?” Jimmy asked, which made him laugh harder. “I thought she was going to shit her pants!” “Pregnancy makes you mean, Peanut.” Matt laughed “I hope I dont catch her on a bad day. Her saying shit like that to me would make me hate myself.” Brian joined in, causing Peyton to roll her eyes. “Oh whatever. I actually like you guys. Besides, she had it coming.” Zack walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her, “That was really fucking hot. And really true.” He said into her ear. “Now I can’t wait to go home.” He grinned down at her. “I love you, Pey.” “Love you, babe.” She replied, kissing him softly. He tried to kiss her again but she dodged him with a wink and said “Save it for later.” After the laughter had died down and the girls had finished putting the food out everyone sat down and ate their Thanksgiving dinner.

After dinner everyone was just kind kind of sitting around, bellies full and happy to be in the company of their best friends. The guys would be starting their yearly tradition of video games, and the girls were about to head upstairs for online shopping, Christmas movies, and gossip. Before all of that Matt decided to make a toast, “To the Avenged family, my eight best friends and my smoking hot wife. We have so much to be thankful for; our music, our families, the friendship we all have, and the fact that Peyton finally found her way back home where she belongs after four long years.” He chuckled, “Next year is gonna be a little different. We’ll have a pair of little Baker feet running around and I gotta tell ya, I’m pretty damn excited to be an uncle. To our wild ass dysfunctional family. I love you guys more than you’ll ever know. Cheers fuckers.” Everyone laughed and raised their glasses, then somehow Jimmy brought the entire group into a massive group hug, shouting “I love you guys!” “Don’t squeeze Peyton!” Brian shouted, which made the entire group laugh. Once the hug broke apart Johnny excitedly grabbed his controller and said “Let’s play some fucking video games like the old days.” “Johnny, you suck at video games.” Zack pointed out. “Fuck you Baker. I’ll just sit here and drink.” He pouted, tossing the controller back onto the table. “Aw don’t be like that gremlin.” Peyton teased him, “if you want you can come upstairs and watch Christmas movies.” “Yeah, no thanks Pey. I’d rather gouge my eyes out with a rusty spoon.” He shuddered. “Come on Christ. Get the controller.” Matt said with a laugh. Zack looked up at Peyton, who was standing beside him and grabbed her hand. “If you need to go home and rest just let me know babe.” “Okay. Love you.” She said, giving him a quick kiss and heading upstairs with the girls. “Have fun, boys!” She shouted behind her. All of the girls piled into Matt and Val’s king sized bed and talked until the wee hours of the morning, when Lacey had to take Johnny home. At that point everyone decided to head home and get some rest. Peyton was asleep before they ever made it home, and Zack had to wake her to get her out of the car. She stumbled up the stairs, pulled all her clothes off and climbed in the bed, her fiancée sliding in behind her. She fell asleep that night, content and thankful for the wonderful life she has.

Notes